Daily go-to: Maybelline Color 24HR Tattoo cream shadow in #35 On and On Bronze

I'm usually reluctant to review cream shadows until I've test-driven them awhile. I hate raving about a shadow only to find that a month later it's dried, cracked and unusable. Which is why I've waited THREE months to review this baby - so I can tell you it's still going strong.

Syen put me on to this one when she asked me to pick up up online for her as it's not available in Hong Kong or Malaysia yet (boo!). But if you get a chance to buy this from Australia or online from FeelUnique (like I did - free shipping to HK), grab it! It's only GBP4.99 on Feel Unique by the way.

I have this shadow in On-and-On-Bronze as well as Permanent Taupe and I definitely prefer "bronze". Don't let the names fool you though. Bronze is more Taupe (as you'll see in the swatch below) and Taupe is more dark grey. Annoying huh?

Also, Taupe is a matte shade and definitely resembles the hard to spread Mac Paint Pot in Painterly. It does make an awesome base though. But so does Bronze. More on that!

Maybelline Unstoppable Curly Extension Mascara

At first, I really didn't like this mascara very much. The thick formula seemed to take forever to dry leading to smudges and on top of it it didn't do much for lashes. You'd sit there, slapping the stuff on and then suddenly BOOM - all your lashes were stuck together. Argh!

But like most Maybelline formulas, this one seems to get better with age as the formula dries down and thickened it only takes a few strokes of the wand to get the required definition. Now a month in to using it daily I'm starting to like the formula. It does give bold black longer lashes - slightly more than my old favourite - but nothing that will knock your socks off. I think that it does indeed help retain curl, but the heavier formula weighs lashes down a bit so it's a give-some-take-some situation. 

Maybelline Watershine Pure in PR31 - The Perfect Pink Lippie I never knew I had!

Despite my recent love for reds I've actually always been a pink lippie gal. Candy pinks of my early 20s, muted pinks, vintage pale pinks, fresh pinks, bright pinks, nude pinks, berry pinks...

Lately I've been craving a shade of bright pink that didn't scream fuschia, wasn't so purple as to be berry, was sheer and more pigmented than a gloss. And I've bought lippies, lord help me. Over and over searching for the perfect pop of bright colour that somehow felt right and it was sitting in my stash ALL ALONG. I picked this up in one of our blogger swap meets - from ParisB I believe and thought it was just too bright for all but the most fuschia of moments. Well guess what?

It's not. It's sheer, it's bright, it's not fuschia, it's not berry.

It's perfect.

Pair it with a pink blush like Down Boy! and it's perfect-er and tote it around with you because it doesn't last past a meal.

And to think I had it all along. And dirt cheap too. =D

Maybelline Watershine Lippies retail for about RM23 - grab yours on sale to snag it below RM20!

Now to find one that looks like Posietint... (no I am never satisfied)

Lazy Friday + A Lipstick Review... Sorta

Right. It's Friday.

About darn time, if you ask me! *winks*

So since my post earlier this week was so horrendously long, I'll go the other direction and keep this one short and sweet.

Since Kahani's already talked about how much she loved her two Maybelline Colour Sensational Moisture Extreme lipsticks (Lordy, what a mouthful), I'll just add my two cents' worth to the one I picked from the lot - Pink Bloom.

If you've read Kahani's review, you'll know most of the details about this lippie already. When I was handed the four (Pink Bloom, Buff, Summer Sunset and Papaya Milk) to pick from, I picked this up right away.


And then put it back down without even swatching.

"Waaay too pink," said I, just by looking at it in the tube.


And ended up picking it up again. After swatching all, I found I liked this best, as it was a little different from the rest which were VERY pigmented. This one was sheerer and glossier. My kind of lipstick.

When worn, it's sheer enough so my lips don't scream PINK, but it adds a little colour to my lips, which can sometimes be really pale. At a glance, it seems pretty neutral, but at closer inspection, you'll notice it leans towards the cooler end of pinks. Just a tad.


And I likes it very, very much.

That's it. That's my review.

Now, just to tell you ladies a little something extra. I gone done something with my hair! Nothing serious. I ended up just trimming my hair, and did mild copper highlights (which is a wee bit more natural that I thought it would be, but it's okay). Because I'm safe and boring like that.


So you get a better look at what it looks like. What d'ya think?

Review: Maybelline Color Sensational Moisture Extreme Lip Color in Raspberry and Summer Sunset

Maybelline hit a winner with this range, no doubt about it. So Loverly was lucky enough to be contacted by their PR firm to test out four colours. Syen picked out Pink Bloom, Eli Buff and I got Summer Sunset which I'd coveted all along. Whee!

Papaya Milk proved to be an odd colour though, looking orangish in the tube and FUSCHIA on me (mysterious aye?). Now here comes the embarrassing bit, I've misplaced it. I know I slipped it into one handbag or another and now for the life of me I can't find it.

Raspberry was such an interesting pink I bought it for myself - Guardian has an offer on the lippies so they're currently selling for RM19.80, who could resist?

Formula
Make no mistake about it, these lippies are crazy pigmented. One swipe gives you full on, weightless colour. Despite the word moisture in the name though, the formula isn't very cushioney. Meaning, unless you apply it over a thick lip balm, it won't go on evenly and will show all your liplines and dry skin. So a base of lipbalm is necessary!

Raspberry
Raspberry is a bright warm pink (brighter than this night time pic does it justice) that reminds me of Benefit's Posietint. The warmth in it stops it from turning fuschia and makes it quite flattering for Chinese skintones. So although it's quite a bright shade I find it doesn't look harsh or plastic on - when paired with the right blush.

Summer Sunset
This classy, warm and deep red belongs to a much pricier lippie! It applies more smoothly than Raspberry, lasts longer, doesn't bleed or feather, is just glossy enough and is incredibly pigmented. It also manages to be that shade of classic red that isn't bloody, orange or clownish. Love it and can't wait to wear it for a glamorous night out.

Conclusion
With a huge range of shades this line is a great release by Maybelline. Has anyone else tried shades that aren't part of the four given out by Maybelline for review? I'm keen to check out other shades. ;) They normally retail for RM24.90 which is a great price, but I believe Guardian is still selling them at discount.

Review: Maybelline Magnum Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara

So I'm a little late with this one, but hey you know it's thoroughly tested! The quick verdict is, it's not worth shelling out extra cash for (as opposed to the RM20 Maybelline Volume Express Hypercurl), but it's not bad either. For the long version, read on!

Brush
I rather like the flat dense brush. It allows all the feathery lash potential of round fat brushes, while not blinding you completely. Nice one, Maybelline!

Formula
Like most Maybelline mascaras, initial results are bleh because the formula is too watery. But there comes a point, usually about a week or two in with daily use where the formula become purrrfect, just before it gets too thick and starts clumping (it's there now after only 6 weeks!).

At its best this formula gives voume, and length. Slightly, but not much, more than hypercurl in my opinion:

It comes off fairly easily with dual-phase eye makeup remover. But it won't come off well with cleansing oils which brings me to the one point it excells Hypercurl in.

It doesn't smudge. AT ALL. Not on my oily skin, not after running around in the rain and mud during a corporate retreat (but not with my company! Being a journalist really can be odd sometimes). If you're after a bulletproof mascara that doesn't take dismemberment to remove *cough Fasio cough* then this baby is GOLD.

Conclusion
I'll save my RM10 and stick to Hypercurl. RM31.90 may not break the bank, but it only lasts a month and a half, and it just doesn't inspire me to loyalty. I know you girls have used it, what do you think?

PS. I got this mascara as a pressie from a friend, I'm so loyal to Hypercurl I couldn't bring myself to buy it! There may come a day when I have the perfect product for everything and then have nothing left to blog about!